Merciless Cult
by Ryunimate
Summary: Things seemed to be getting better when L asked Kitsune to work with him on the Kira case- but it proves to be more trouble for Kitsune than L would- or should- ever know. She'd do anything to keep him safe, but nothing seems to really be going as planned
1. The Hearing

It wasn't supposed to go like this. I'm not supposed to be here. I should be in college somewhere learning how to do things that I'm not going to use; I should be somewhere safe. It shouldn't be 2AM in central Tokyo, and I shouldn't be surrounded by shield carrying policemen. I should, however, have listened to mom. Maybe those teachers and physicatrists had something when they told me to make new friends.

My hands shook and I rubbed my ankles together roughly as I sat in a terribly small box-like chair next to an even bigger box-like chair with a judge sitting there. My mother said that it was the kindness of his heart… I say it was out of boredom that the L took up my case….

"Toidiami, Kitsune," the attorney started, trying to scare me as he stared angrily into my eyes; "why?"

"Objection," my lawyer said.

"Overruled," the judge said.

"Why did you shoot Drater-san?" the attorney continued.

"I did no such thing."

"We have solid proof that you did- mostly that we caught you at the sight holding the gun, next to the bodies of the Drater family and friends."

"Mostly?" I asked casually. "You have proof beyond this?"

"DNA on the gun," he started to list.

"It was thrown to me, and I caught it."

"Motives."

"Everyone has a motive for everything."

"Please," L-san's distorted voice said from the computer held by a tall, long-coated man, "You aren't giving any proof to anyone that can't be easily contradicted by Toidiami-san."

"Well she has no proof that she wasn't the one who killed this large group," the attorney exploded.

The daughter of the Drater family was only 11 or so, and sat as the plaintiff behind a large, polished stand, her cheeks wet with hatred- hatred for me. She wanted me dead and killed in such horrible ways that the human mind can only start to comprehend them… She wants revenge but toward the wrong person.

"Yes, but, though not caught on film, she was with a group. A group named 'Vampiro Del Norte' for their dark ways and many murders and battery attempts. This was only the first full-fledged homicide, especially in such a large number," L-san told them. How could he know of the VdN?

"And how would you know this?" the attorney challenged openly.

All eyes in the court, besides the Drater Daughter, went to the fancily drawn L that adorned the otherwise blank screen. It flashed slightly before he went on.

"Angle, for one- please, if you would, play the video again."

There was a security camera that had been around the corner, and they used the tape, watching it repeatedly, but finding nothing.

"You can see Toidiami-san's shadow against the jewelry store window nearly parallel to where the bodies and she were found. She stays in the position the entire time, and, even though you can only vaguely tell that someone is there, you can see the pink tips of her hair throughout, and as she checks her cell phone, a light can be seen, and the window shows her face. Like I said, she stays here for the entire time, and using simple math, you can see that where the bodies were and where she stood were completely wrong."

"Maybe she moved the bodies," the Drater Daughter spoke up, her voice soft and cracking.

"No," L-san said simply; "the clothes of these victims were completely untouched by Toidiami-san. She could have used gloves, yes, but no gloves were found anywhere near where she was. Plastic-latex gloves, however, where found 4 miles away in a trash can with every Drater and other victim's blood stains, and the wearers of these gloves, for there were 6 pairs, were all outward members of Vampiro Del Norte, the notorious gang with which Toidiami-san spent her time with as an escape from her…" -he paused, and I knew that if he was actually here, he would face me- "life and school didn't you say, Kitsune-san?"

My breath caught. I'd said that only to my psychiatrist… had he leaked it?

"How would you know that?" the attorney towards whom my hate had grown rapidly questioned.

"She told me," L-san answered.

Suddenly the music that I had heard in my head became mute, and all of the voices in the court room disappeared.

_"Why do you hang out with them if they are only going to get you into trouble?"_

_"I hang around them because they're so different- it's like an escape from…. everything."_

_"Why would you need an escape? Your life seems more than perfect. You're getting an award tomorrow for your exam scores, aren't you?" the dark haired boy asked me._

_"Yes… but that's all so shallow. Every now and then you need an escape from your life… and your parents…."_

_"What's wrong with your parents?"_

_"Well my father's over in America teaching Japanese and my mother's at home trying to make the best of my not having a fatherly figure- instead of helping all she's done is create a hellish environment for me. She puts up pictures of him in one room, but not in the next, and she greets me as if she hasn't seen me in the last 4 years or something. She writes notes and letters to him and never sends them, but instead throws them away and starts again, then calls me up to help her…"_

_The boy next to me wasn't really a boy, but not really a man- just a male human. He sat with his knees held level with his collar bone, and looked incredibly tired, while still stunningly alert towards all around him. We'd met only last week on the train when my best friend and I'd lost her little sister in the crowd, and he brought her back. My friend had been Aneko-chan, and her sister the girl behind the stand that clearly read '_**PLAINTIFF**_', named Midori- this girl with hatred burning through her eyes._

"Toidiami-san!"

_Had the boy that brought Drater, Midori back smiling with a chocolate bar in her hand really been L? Or had he been linked to L? Had L just simply heard us from another close connection? Surely the dark haired, sleepily attentive eyed one who I'd opened up to that day hadn't been the world-renowned L…_

"Toidiami-san!" the attorney yelled again.

"I'm sorry… yes?" I looked at his angry face.

"What do you have to say to this?" L asked calmly.

"I have to say… that L is completely correct. I could do nothing; I wasn't old enough or strong enough to overpower the Vampiro Del Norte without putting myself in a position of being killed."

* * *

"Kitsune-chan had always been loved by my family, and we acted with her as if she was our sister. She never acted hostile around us, but she also did not kill the Drater family excluding me," Midori told the court-room.

The court room completely silenced- no one even seemed to breathe.

"Go on," L told her finally.

"I only hate her because she stood watching the time on her cell phone as my family and our parents' friends were shot to death in front of my sister and I, then they took Aneko-chan, at which point Kitsune-chan started to intervene, but stopped when the police sirens came really close, and all of the men of the gang dropped Aneko and shot her twice in the head before leaving me and Kitsune-chan to face the police. I was trying to keep myself from simply falling and probably passing out from the shock of my sister's and parents' blood mixing on the ground before Kitsune-chan and me."

The room was silent.

"Why was this never brought to our attention?" my lawyer finally asked.

The bull-dog-faced attorney stumbled around his words- he'd tried to get a recess before Midori was let onto the stand, and now I know why; the bastard had wanted to win this case so badly that he'd with-held evidence that would've completely freed me.

"Notori-san, you fool," my lawyer spat, and stood. "Your honor, I would like to now like to point out the obvious to everyone in this court: Notori-san has with held critical evidence, and can now be held in contempt. We rest our case, your honor," he finished smugly.

"I-I…" Notori looked around, and to the judge.

Wow, even I wouldn't have sunken that low.

"Obviously this case is solved with proof, and a witness who denies all charges against Toidiami, Kitsune," L said from the computer.

* * *

Always I have wanted to thank L for saving my life. Without him, Midori would've been seen as simply a child with a crazy story about the tragic death of her family.

Without him, I wouldn't have gotten my award for the exam he'd known well about, and I'd never had gotten myself into this new mess…


	2. Space Land or not

"Around 11 o'clock today in the city of Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture, a thirty year old man was found covered in blood at his apartment. The Kanagawa police are currently treating this case as a suspected homicide."

"What was your first clue?" I muttered at the TV. Everything was just death after death then a few bits on how to make a lovely dinner for your family, followed then by how to kill the damn poultry.

"A 25 year old woman was gagged and killed by her live-in partner."

"That's gross- living with a person," Midori added. We stood in our apartment cleaning dishes from the 'fantastic' meal that we'd had delivered. Somehow I wondered how the dishes got dirty, but decided not to delve into such trivial matters.

"Yes, the simple idea of having another, filthy person in your house is grotesque."

Midori laughed.

That was it… That was nearly all I could remember. Midori had left for school the next morning and vanished. It was as if she'd walked into a closet and gotten lost in the darkness. My mind acted the same. Nothing… just… a void of endless forgetfulness.

After the hearing where I was found not guilty on the charge of homicide, Midori was adopted by my mother- my father still divorced and teaching in the States- and we'd been inseparable since. I was in college and working for my mother at her store where I was given a bias-based pay (mostly because I was the only other one working there) and Midori was in high school the whole day mostly. She went to cram school at night and studied into the early hours. Somehow our inseparability had driven us apart, but made us better friends when we actually had time to sit and talk or play games.

The night before that, however, Midori had come home going on about some note book falling from the sky.

"It was the weirdest thing! There was a thin black note book that just fell from the roof or something. I saw it when I was in history, and it just… fell. Kitsu?"

I looked back up at her, and apologized; "I'm just tired. I heard you. You didn't see who dropped it?"

"No, but I did see a guy from my class go and pick it up after school. Yagami Light I think it was. He left with it, so I didn't see what it was exactly, but I did see golden yellow writing on the front. I caught a few letters but all I could make out was Dth Ne; the sun was too bright and it fell too fast."

"The phantom killer who attacked six people in Shinjuku's business district yesterday, has now taken eight children and kindergarten teachers as hostages and is holed up in this nursery."

We looked towards the blaring TV at the live video on the news channel. "The police have now identified the man as Otoharada Kurou, aged 42, unemployed. It seems that they're about to begin negotiations."

I went to switch off the TV, but Midori, in her odd love for violence that had shown itself after the hearing, grabbed my arm, and continued to watch the screen. We stood for nearly a minute before the phone rang. "I'll get it!" Midori announced, and ran off. I went for the switch on the television set again, but stopped; "Ah!! Wait a minute! Something appears to be happening!"

I pulled back from the set and stared. Small children and young women swarmed out of the building, flashing through the camera's view, crying and yelling. "The hostages are coming out!" the reporter informed. "They all appear to be unharmed! The police are rushing the building as the hostages exit."

"Oi, Kitsu- I have to go over to my friend's house!"

"Fine yeah whatever," I replied, watching policemen blur the screen. Heart attack? Pretty convenient, isn't it?

Kira…

* * *

I no longer had to hide. Thanks to Kira, every member of Vampiro Del Norte died in a car crash, or of a heart attack. Somehow I started to wonder at that point. Kira had only appeared a week ago, the same time that Midori disappeared, and he only killed criminals. All of them I could find either on the internet, photo and name exposed, or I'd just seen maybe 1 minute or two ago on the television. It was no coincidence that these all happened in the evening until night- between 4PM and midnight. That, along with my suddenly missing best friend, was enough to make me have an odd need to sleep all the time. If I decided not to sleep at certain points, I lay awake for hours on end, wondering about the random deaths and the possibility that Midori was dead.

Kira wouldn't kill Midori, would he? He's only killed criminals, so far. What if he's decided that he's great enough to simply kill as he pleases? No, Kira doesn't seem to be killing everywhere, but mostly concentrated in the theory of 'those who sin deserve to die'. What's even more weird is that his first hit was Otoharada Kurou, a criminal only really mentioned in Yokohama, Kanagawa…

I rolled over in my bed. It was late- too late to worry about this.

* * *

The bus was mostly empty- Just an old woman and man, and a few very odd assortments of people. The bus slowed to a halt in front of a tall black haired man and a teenage couple. They sat in the back near where I was. The girl giggled about something the boy had said. I couldn't see his face, but he seemed… familiar. As he said something else to the girl, I saw his face.

Light-kun!

I was about to say something to him when the bus stopped, and on boarded a man with a very bad sense of style. He walked to the front, and smoothly held a gun to the unsuspecting driver's head. I decided it wasn't worth it to say hello to him. A simple greeting was never worth half your face being blown off by a balding man with a bad moustache….

"I'm taking over this bus!" the goblin-man declared proudly. Random people in the bus made frightened noises, but I just stared at Light-kun, who watched Goblin Man as if he was watching soccer- not that he looked very interested, I mean. "Keep it down! I'll kill anyone who dares to move."  
But what if you drone on like this for a long time? Maybe I need to move every now and then to ensure that my legs don't fall off from loss of circulation.

"Oi, driver- do you know the phone number of the Space Land offices?!" Goblin man continued.

You want to go to Space Land? Well quit being dramatic and sit down, or we'll never get there, smarty.

"Call them!"

"Yes," the poor driver agreed, and pulled out the phone; "This is driver, Saski, of bus number 124."

"Tell them what's going on," Goblin man ordered.

"I-I've been hi-jacked by a man with a gun."

I took this time when the Goblin man wasn't looking to notice that the man sitting being Light-kun and his girlfriend type person was watching them closely. He glanced at me, and I looked away to continue picking away at the layers of black on my nails.

"Give it here." The Goblin man grabbed the phone and said, "You heard what going on? Now, listen up! I want a woman in a car to bring yesterday's takings, to the bus stop two stops away from Space Land before this bus gets there."

What? No Space Land? Just near… fine, stupid Goblin man, do what you must to make yourself feel good. I felt bad for the old woman, who shook in fright next to her husband. I really wanted to comfort her for some reason.

"If you call the police or try anything funny, I'll kill every single person on this bus!"

I'd really like to see that… Not the old people, no, but still, that'd be odd. What an odd Goblin man.

He snapped the phone line and threw it to the floor. Maybe someone needs to take their meds.

* * *

In front of me, Light refrained from comforting his 'friend', who shook as if it were suddenly snowing. She looked at him for some reason, and stared at something she held. The man behind them, being quite rude, looked at whatever it was as well. I felt left out, really.

"You can't, it's too dangerous. Don't do it," the man told Light, before saying something even lower that I couldn't hear.

The situation got boring after that. The man, Raye Penber (from what I'd seen on the ID he showed to Light-kun) tried to convince Light that he was from the FBI, and suddenly the Goblin man begins yelling and shouting about some evil being after he grabs a paper that Light-kun had dropped.

At this point, I realized that I was not going to Space Land today. It was kind of ruined.

The Goblin man forced the bus to stop on the grounds that something big and scary was coming after him, and was tragically decided to play Ram with an oncoming car- he lost. Light-kun remained stone throughout, only comforting his companion when she really went crazy in fear.

The blood on the ground from the Goblin man's head was enough to make me want to kill someone else. It pissed me off that he dared die in such a bloody way in front of me. Even though the slaughter of the Drater family and friends had been about 2 or 3 years ago, the sight of blood just plain put me in a rage…

But Light-kun never noticed I was there, so I never decided to say hello. It would seem weird or uncomfortable to walk up to someone with a dead or dying man on the street and say 'Oh, Light-kun! I haven't seen you for a while! How have you been?'


	3. Vampires of the South

I believe it was Monday or Tuesday when my aunt and uncle invited me to dinner. Their house was much nicer than the apartment Midori and I rented down near the train tracks. My cousin, Sayu, was waiting at the door, smiling, and let me in politely. I always had thought that she hated me, but maybe it was mutual then, and had worn off now… maybe. My other cousin, Light, was up in his room doing, as Aunt Sachiko said, "God knows what." Uncle Soichiro was just coming home as I helped Aunt Sachiko and Sayu set the table.

"Oh, Kitsu-chan- how nice to see you again; how's Tori?"

My mother, Tori Toidiami, wasn't usually one to come and join the family for dinner, but instead stayed up at night drawing and painting pictures of her flowers. My mom owned a local flower shop where she made sufficient pay- beyond simple deliveries and such, my mom liked to make portraits that she sold almost immediately. However she did live in the second story of the shop, so she really never gets away from the flowers…

Light came to dinner finally, looking as statuesque as last time on the bus. He lightened up when he saw me, and greeted me full heartedly.

"Kitsune-chan- I've missed you! Where's Midori? She hasn't been to class lately."

"She apparently went to a friend's house and has forgotten school… and me… and the phone," I answered, and noticed a change in his mood, though very subtle.

"Tori told me that Midori hasn't been home in a while. Is she ok?" Aunt Sachiko asked politely.

"Probably; she's very good at taking care of herself…"

* * *

**Her knees shook. She had never seen anything like this done in front of her. Surely this was not a suitable death- your head in a trash can and your body laying mangled in the street. The Banpaia no Minamiyori had taken on a name similar to those who'd killed Midori's family, yet still she followed them. They would teach her real revenge… and how to take it out correctly.**

**But this man whom they'd slaughtered viciously –in name of teaching solely- had no revenge that needed to be taken out on him. He'd done nothing, yet still he was completely gone. Midori grabbed Uri's knife, and ran back towards the car where Uri, Kyo, and Kinna waited. They had told Midori that it was all Toidiami, Kitsune's fault- the imprisonment of their brothers and sisters, who had been in Vampiro Del Norte, and the death of the Drater family. She had forced them at gunpoint, but got off because she had someone act as L… or maybe even tricked L.**

**Now she was a Bampaia no Minamiyori and she would help to rid the world of evil, as Kira does… as the gang does… and the first to die for her sins would be Toidiami, Kitsune, for the framing of 15 men and women and the deaths of 8 people. Somehow it seemed wrong in the back of Midori's head to kill the girl who'd comforted her after the trail, and helped her through her problems throughout **

**childhood- Kitsune was her sister, but why have one sister who killed the other? Why not just have two dead sisters… It seemed logical enough at the time.**

**The gun would be loaded…**

**Kitsune would cry out for help that would never come…**

**Drater, Midori would avenge her family and all those who were blamed…**

**"Oi, Midori-chan- where's that Kitsune-san now?"**

**"If she's not at home, she will be at the Yagami household," Midori, the enraged 16 year old, told Uri, the leader of the Bampaia.**

**"Where's that? There doesn't seem to be any cars here, so she must be at that Yagami place," Kyo stated from the driver's seat.**

**"It's down the street." Midori pointed to the west and Kyo drove obediently.**

**Kyo, the blue-haired Bampaia, was the little brother of the man who'd shot Midori's mother's friend. Uri was the brother of the man with the green and pink hair who'd ordered Kitsune to watch the time. Kinna was the red-mohawk-sporting teenager, relation to the Vampire Del Norte currently unkown to Midori.**

* * *

"You can't go to your apartment alone, Kitsu-chan," Aunt Sachiko told me after dinner.

"Why not; I'm 22, I'm old enough to be alone," I told her, smiling.

"But it's not safe- not with Kira around killing people and all the criminals out making the most of their time. You can't stay with your mother, cramped up in a single room of a flower shop… I want you to stay here tonight."

"But I… what if Midori-chan comes home?"

"She has an extra key, doesn't she? Just go back and leave a note telling her to call. You should be ok to go back to your apartment and get a few things, and come straight back," Aunt Sachiko told me.

"But where will I sleep?"

"You can't sleep on the couch… but maybe with Sayu-chan."

"No!" Sayu chimed in finally; "She can't sleep in my room because I have no room! Only in Light-kun's room is there actually space for anything."

Aunt Sachiko rolled her eyes; "She can't sleep in Light-kun's room- he's a boy, honey."

"Yes, but only for a little while! It's not like she's going to do things to Onii-chan," Sayu muttered.

"Really, it's no problem. I can just go home- Midori-chan should return soon," I told Aunt Sachiko again.

"No, and I really mean it. I'll ask Light-kun when he gets back from cram school."

"Fine, but I'm going to go home really quick to get my stuff and leave Midori-chan the note, then I'll come back; I promise."

"Ok, but take my cell phone with you so that you have the house number." Aunt Sachiko handed me her old cell phone from her purse, and I opened the front door to leave.

* * *

Outside the night was chilly and the wind blew my hair to cover my face. I didn't feel alone, however- like eyes from different points watched me as I made my way down the desolate sidewalk towards my apartment complex. A car behind me slowed and seemed to trail me. I waved it past, but still it remained- watching me. The headlights turned on and I started to run.

**_Fuck_**

"Hey, Kitsune-chan!" a slurred voice yelled from out their car's window.

The voice was familiar… I'd heard it somewhere… Lentioni- the gang member who had ordered me to watch the time as they killed all of the Draters… but it was only close to Lent's voice- like a younger form or different way of speaking.

Something blunt hit my back and I stumbled, turning into an alley for some stupid reason. The car stopped and out came 2 boys, a girl, and…

**_Midori…_**

"Hello there, Kitsune-chan!" the one who looked and sounded like Lentioni yelled.

The girl smirked, and threw something black and small to Midori, who stood staring at me. I didn't know that I'd die in an alleyway…

Killed by my best friend's sister…

With absolutely no one to help me…

I stood against the wall with the four people standing harrowingly at the opening of the dank alley.

"So you're Toidiami, Kitsune," a blue-haired boy muttered. "Who knew that you looked so… weak."

Weak? Weak?

"Go ahead, Midi," the obviously drunken one told Midori, who stepped forward to hold the firearm to my forehead.

_The snow falls softly._

_I never had really enjoyed the sunlight, breaking the will of the snow- melting it down into water, which truly was weakness. It was only natural for me to want to go outside. I wanted to dance in the snow and play with someone my own age._

_But there was no one around._

_So I played by myself._

_I watched as a car drove by towards the orphanage down the street. A boy a few years older than me watched the falling snow as well. His eyes seemed intrigued while disinterested at the same time. The driver of the car was an older man, Watari from what I'd guessed. I'd been to the orphanage before when Mother took me so that she could read to the children or something like that. I always played in the front with kids my own age- older children usually watched from a distance, and talked about things that they thought we couldn't comprehend._

_Maybe I would see him again._

I had no idea why this memory was in my head, but it was the only innocent thing I could think of at the moment. The snowy musing broke the harsh scene before me. I was mostly in shock, I think. The barrel of the gun was colder than the bitterly numbing wall that my head and back pressed against.

I had no way out of this. There was no 'outsmarting' or rethinking to be done- I was going to die here with my blood and thoughts blown against the bricks.

Suddenly, Midori's eyes widened and her pupil's dialated. I turned my head to the side, pressing my cheek to the wall. Tears filled and emanated from Midori's eyes, and she lowered the gun. As I exhaled finally, somehow having held my breath without thinking, my entire body shook and I watched Midori carefully.

She turned towards the other members of whatever group this was, and mumbled a soft, "I'm sorry Kitsu-chan." Before anyone could react, 4 loud shots smashed into my ears and the soundwaves thrashed against the containing walls and into the sky.

1 for the blue haired boy…

1 for the Mohawk girl…

1 for the green and pink haired boy…

And one last for the lanky black haired girl who whispered a last goodbye before falling to her knees, blood splashing the ground…


	4. L

Midori turned towards the other members of whatever group this was, and mumbled a soft, "I'm sorry Kitsu-chan." Before anyone could react, 4 loud shots smashed into my ears and the sound waves thrashed against the containing walls and into the sky.

1 for the blue haired boy…

1 for the Mohawk girl…

1 for the green and pink haired boy…

And one last for the lanky black haired girl who whispered a last goodbye before falling to her knees, blood splashing the ground…

I stood for another few seconds before lowering myself to the ground against the building behind me, and pulling myself into a tight ball.

Oh god… oh god…

All that my mind would really let me think about was the chance of another lengthy hearing. Through the blur that was my vision, I could make out the spreading darkness of blood creeping towards me.

So I ran. I ran faster than I ever had before. I bounded over the bodies and stumbled and slipped my way forward until I reached my apartment, which I entered with such force that I fell inside and lay on the floor, barely able to breathe.

He felt bad for his cousin. It was kind of sad that she had to endure seeing her best friend shoot herself and three others, but they were major criminals now- having killed 16 people in the past 3 weeks- after Midori went missing. Midori had just made the wrong decisions, and Kira had to take care of this- he couldn't have an insane 16 year old running around killing people for fun.

So she's dead.

And Kitsune-chan will return shortly, shaken and terrified, probably crying, and want to go straight to bed…

"You're going to have a girl sleep in your room?" Ryuk asked.

"A girl… she's my cousin, and yes, she's going to have to sleep in here because there's no room anywhere where Mother will allow her to sleep," Light answered, still staring at the report on the internet about the Bampaia no Manamiyami. "She's going to return here in a few minutes or hours… depending on what she does between her apartment and this house…"

Laying on the floor of my apartment, I had a lot of time to think, but too much to think about… The stale silence was cut sharply by the knives of song emitted from my cell phone. I'd forgotten about it… but my aunt's phone had remained silent, too…

I cleared my throat, and a somewhat normal sounding voice escaped my mouth; "Hello?"

The front of the hotel seemed normal… so did everything in the windows and everything around the hotel itself. Surely this wasn't the 'Headquarters' for the Kira investigation…

The room number… is the floor consistent with the first number or numbers? I didn't know why I was worrying so much, but I did nearly run myself into a number of people on the way to the elevator.

The large metal box-like encloser that was an elevator held a tourist-looking couple, me, and an old man in a crisp brown suit and hat. The entire time the couple argued in English- something about eating monkey or something like that. I was thankful that the room I was going to was the first, but I nearly missed it waiting for the large tourists to move… or even hear me saying that I needed to get off.

I inhaled deeply after the elevator left- so that I would not to be rude- as the woman's perfume had tried to strangle me or something. After composing myself, and looking around, I struggled with the random signs everywhere to find the room. Once I got to the door, I was exhausted.

I'd had to walk all the way there, die from being run over and suffocated, and then had to walk around the entire floor…

"_Hello?"_

"_Toidiami-san," a distorted voice replied from the other end._

_I hesitated, but finally let out a low, "Who is this?"_

"_Please, if you could come," the person said, ignoring my questioning._

"_Who is this?" I repeated. "Where are you?"_

"_Do you fear death, Toidiami-san?"_

"_What kind of question is that?"_

_The other end was silent, and I sighed; "No."_

I knocked on the door of the hotel room a few times, and waited impatiently. An old man opened the door, and I stared up at him in awe.

"Watari-san?" I asked, childishly innocent.

"Hello, Kitsune-chan; how nice to see you again," he said. Watari, the man who'd been driving the car with the boy in the backseat; the man who'd let me hang around Wammy's House when I was little and there was no one to take care of me…

I wanted to hug Watari. He was the only thing that I remember from my childhood that didn't involve extreme violence or that has now wound up in a smelly second story of a shop…

"Please come in," he invited, and I slid my way past him, into the dark room.

"Thank you for coming," a male voice said casually from the floor in front of me.

"What did you want me for?" I asked solidly.

"I need your help, Kitsune-chan."

"Why?" was all I could manage. I really wanted to fall over right now… maybe you know… just kind of die.

The lights turned on, and I saw the Watari was gone. On the floor were a computer and speakers… and L.

"Because," he started, standing up, "you're the brightest girl I know that I can trust right now."

"What the hell," I said, staring. Excuse me, but how do you know that you can trust me- _me_ of all people?

"I've seen your activity through the cameras that have already been put up. You pose no threat, and are not Kira, because-"

"You saw what happened?" I said accidentally a bit too angrily.

"Yes," he nodded softly.

"Fine… whatever."

"Oh my Kitsune-chan," Light's aunt, Tori, moaned. She had laid her head on the dining room table, and Light's mother comforted her with her hand resting on her sister's back, whispering comforting words; "and my Midori-chan, as well. Who knows? What if Kitsune-chan is **dead**?"

The word echoed through the house and hung ominously in the air. So many things were about to be said by Light's mother, but she refrained, because you can't comfort a woman with one missing and one dead child. Especially when one committed suicide and the other watched.

Dead? Light thought, Why hadn't I even considered the possibility of Kitsune dying? If she really is dead…

"It's going to be ok, Aunt Tori-san," Sayu told her broken relative; "I'm sure that Kitsune's just trying to bring herself together. She'll return home soon…"

Tori lifted her head, and with bloodshot eyes searched her nieces face. "You are such a young girl, aren't you?" Tori put her hand to Sayu's cheek softly. "I do hope that nothing bad ever befalls you, Sayu-chan… You _are_ so innocent." She removed her hand and placed it back on her other wrist, staring now at her silver watch. "But, alas, so were Midori-chan and Kitsune-chan… and Aneko-chan."

"Don't talk like that, Tori-san," Light finally said. "Kitsune-chan will be fine, and she will return home soon."

Tori looked now at her nephew, tall and assuring, then back to the table, which she watched blankly; "I hope so, Light-kun."

"You're lying to your aunt?" Ryuk asked. The shinigami hovered behind Light as he roamed Yokohama's streets- partly in search of his missing cousin, and more likely looking for something to get his mind off of the current situation he was in.

Without realizing it, Light had made his way to the location at which Midori shot herself and her _friends_. The place was still being examined by police, but the bodies were all gone- off to a morgue to become white mannequins of what once were.

"I didn't lie to her, Ryuk," Light told both the shinigami and himself. "I really have no idea where Kitsune-chan is."


	5. Misa

"Hello, I'm Shika. Can you help me?"

The blonde haired girl, whom I'd been behind for quite awhile, turned and smiled. "Yes, of course! I'm Misa. What's wrong?"

"I seem to be lost," I said bashfully; "Could you point me towards the train station?"

"Oh, yeah, sure- I'm going there anyway," she told me happily.

"Oh thank you so much," I said, and she shook her head.

"No problem."

Behind us came a commotion, and I turned to see someone with a low beanie and hoodie run by, grabbing Misa's bag. Misa seemed incredibly shocked, and started to run after the guy. I passed her and followed the thief behind a building.

"Boy, that was risky," Korou, a boy I'd met only a few hours ago, said, pulling off the wool hat. He handed me Misa's bag, and I shuffled through it, but found nothing of too much interest. Korou was a boy I'd paid a good ¥1,000 to so that he would steal Misa's stuff.

"Thanks anyway- nothing seems to be here," I told him. My cover story was that my money was taken, and Misa was the only one who could've had it.

"It doesn't seem like you'd need to care about someone taking your money since you paid me pretty good."

"Well… I gave you most of what I had, but it's ok. I'll find my money. Now get out of here before she sees you."

Korou threw the jacket into a garbage can, along with the beanie, and retreated into the crowd. I walked out with the bag, but stopped suddenly as a huge looming creature floated above the crowd.

**I knew it.**

Misa ran towards me quickly, and I handed her the bag, ignoring the monster that stayed behind her.

"I'm sorry, the boy got away, but here's your bag."

"Oh thank you. He wasn't _touching_ anything in here, right?" she asked cautiously.

"No; I got it back from him just as he stopped, and then you came. Nothing was touched," I promised her…

My hair had been grown out so to cover most of my face- my eyes couldn't be seen and neither could anything above my top lip when I had the 'official' hair-do that I had to wear into public. At 

least I wasn't stared at half as much as the Yamamba or Ganguro girls- chicks looked like they were going into some kind of crazed-out war or something.

_Kira will never kill me._

Yes, I knew. I'd always known: Light with his insane feeling of godliness, and Misa with her odd stalker-esque ways…

I grinned. I couldn't help it. This was just too perfect.

"**What was with that girl earlier? I couldn't see her name or anything because I couldn't see **_**any**_** of her face…" Misa told Rem as she brushed her hair.**

"**It seemed very convenient… I mean that the boy happened to run by, and this girl… Shika could catch him… and then he got away," Rem thought out loud.**

"**Yes… but what isn't convenient anymore?" Misa giggled. "Anyway," she started putting in her earrings, "Shika-chan's invited me to lunch tomorrow, remember? She's so interesting, and we really got on when we were riding the train yesterday."**

"**I would be careful around her, Misa-chan," Rem warned, staring at Misa's reflection.**

"**Yes, yes, I will be," Misa said as if she was being nagged constantly.**

"**I'm serious, Misa-chan. I think she looked at me when she returned your bag to you. She looks like a very smart person, and may keep her hair covering her face so that you cannot see her real name or life span."**

"**Is there something you're not telling me, Rem?" Misa asked, turning to Rem, stopping her constant brush strokes through her hair.**

"**Yes," Rem told her simply, and returned to watching Misa fluff herself.**

"**Fine, don't tell me; I'll just figure it all out myself," Misa told Rem smugly, and bounded out of the room.**

I smiled inwardly as Misa and her shinigami entered the restaurant. She waved excitedly at me, and I hugged her as a hello.

It wasn't much of a lunch, however, because, as pumped as Misa seemed to be about _everything_, her shinigami continuously cautioned her about me- telling her to watch where my eyes wander to, and if I look like I'm listening to something whenever the shinigami would talk. I completely ignored her… but still, she was helping _me_ rather than Misa…

"So Misa-chan," I said to get her attention as she messed with her makeup, "anyone you into or anything?" I pushed the food on my plate around, pretending to be very interested in the plastic-like vegetables. From the corner of my eye, I saw Rem snap her boney neck to face Misa, and watched her every motion.

"Be careful, Misa-chan," Rem whispered. She glared at me with her cat-like eye, but I stared straight as Misa as she poked at her sundae.

"Oh no one really," Misa told me without glancing away from her ice cream; "But there _is_ this guy from my old school that I've kept in touch with, and he's so hot!"

As much as I knew I'd regret it, I played along; "Oh really? Who does he look like?"

"Like… He looks better than anyone _ever_!"

I smiled as she squealed at her odd fantasies of whatever it was she thought about… if anything.

"What about you?" she asked smoothly, and stared straight at me, putting her head on her hands.

"Oh no, I don't like anyone…"

"Really? No way! Surely _someone_!" she persisted.

"Well…" I glanced at the shinigami, and pretended to be staring at someone entering; "maybe this

guy from my school…"

"College?" Misa asked, returning to her sundae.

"Yes…"

"Who does _he_ look like?"

"I guess… He looks like…" I thought for a second. Who doesn't look like _other people _anymore? "Die, from Dir en grey…"

"Oh, really?" she asked excitedly. A few moments went by quietly until Misa decided to question me; "I'm sorry, but can I ask your entire name, Shika?"

I paused, and glanced at the shinigami on my way to looking at a passing waiter. The death god's eyes stayed directed at me, focusing on me, and me alone.

"Shinshira, Shika," I told her, looking at her then back at my plate- still full of the same amount of food.

"That's a nice sounding name," Misa complimented.

"Thanks… what about you?"

"Emami, Misa."

"You suspect this girl?" Misa's shinigami inquired.

_Odori ga subete no shoujyo wo dakikakae_

I answered my cell phone, hoping that no one had really noticed the loud song line.

"Kitsu-chan, are you at the restaurant?"

"Yes," I told L.

"I need you to come back- make something up. Kira's shown more evidence about themselves."

"Yes, ok, **Mom**- I'm coming back." I closed my phone, and found Misa and her death god staring at me. "I need to get back home. Mom broke her leg a few weeks ago, and she's been needing my help a lot lately," I lied smoothly.

"Oh," Misa sighed, "how sad. Well, I hope your mother heals well. I'll see you later."

"Ok; maybe the day after tomorrow?"

"Sure," Misa agreed, and waved me goodbye.

* * *

"What is it, L?" I asked, standing in my place next to him.

"Kira has killed again, but in intervals of exactly an hour."

"And yesterday you told the police that you suspected that Kira was a student because of the times that he usually killed?"

"Yes- Kira's acted so quickly to this, that he may have access to police files…" L observed.

"Ok… so a student in Yokohoma, Japan, who has access to police files? Have you gotten the files on the members of this investigation?"

"Yes," L replied, handing me the tall stack.

"Wow- I guess I'll go and separate the ones with kids from the ones without. Those in college are suspected as well?"

"In a different group, probably," he answered somewhat reluctantly.

"Right…" To some it may seem like I was doing the real hard work, but I only did it because I knew that it was in everyone's best interest- besides Kira, of course- that L's mind did not wander off Kira- even if only to separate background checks…

* * *

Late into the night I found my family's- the Yagami's. Light… Sayu… Aunt Sachiko and Uncle Soichiro…

Light was the perfect candidate for being Kira. He's smart and could be devious enough to think out these traps, and he comes home around 4PM –though staying up until midnight so close to exams is 

a little offsetting, but this makes it even more probable. Of course I would have solid proof that he was Kira if I could get back into the house, and show them that damned notebook, but I can't, so I won't.

I bet Light thinks that he's put us off by making the deaths of those criminals during the day- when he was undoubtedly at school; Gym, in fact. He's probably thinking that he's making L sweat, when it's really him sweating underneath… he doesn't know it, but putting the fact that he can control the time _and_ place of the deaths at will made suspicions of him become at least .5 percent higher, if not more.

_Oh Light, you were always bright, but also rash and immature without meaning to be._


	6. My Proof

_It struck me as odd that Misa- a now known Second Kira- had not killed anyone. She still had that look in her eyes of innocence that no one ever having used the Death Note could hold. However, she did have the eyes of a shinigami. I guessed that she kept the shinigami and the Death Note around so that she could use them to her advantage at some point- like keeping a gun in your boot or money under your pillow- as odd as it seems to use such analogies._

My eyes felt like … I don't know, like dictionaries or something were tied to my eyelids. I rolled around on the bed, under the covers, until I became wrapped up in them and rolled off the bed. When had I gotten on the bed?

Anyway, on my way to the floor, I saw that L was sleeping. Yes, _sleeping_. I felt as if I had just seen Haley's comet or something close to that. Of course, once I thumped to the floor, he awoke, and made a laughing grin at me in my cocoon of evil fluffiness.

"Hey shut up!" I told him, sticking my tongue out, and rolling around on the floor until the blanket that had had me in its grasp of doom slowly became untangled and I lay on it, still tired.

"Oh, poor Kitsu-chan," he said, and looked at the computer in front of him.

"It's a wonder that your legs haven't lost all circulation, smart boy."

"Why- you sit something like this, and your legs are still attached."

"Attached, yes, but do they truly feel attached?" I asked.

"I'd rather not know."

I sighed. It was quite boring around here in the mornings. The police really didn't do anything regarding Kira and his many exploits, and L pretty much just sat around _thinking_, which made _me think_, which really was not a good thing at all.

I wonder how Raye Penber is doing. I sure hope he doesn't die…

L turned his head to look at me as I stared up at the ceiling, _thinking._

"Dear god, are you thinking about something?" he asked seriously.

My eyes widened and I slowly looked down at him; "Jeez, I was!"

"About what?" he asked, slightly cocking his head.

"The FBI agent… Kira… bananas," I replied, returning my sights to the incredibly fascinating ceiling.

"What about the FBI agent?"

"He's going to die."

L stared at me.

* * *

Slowly the morning progressed to become interesting- if that it was you could call it.

"L-san, I'm leaving for a bit; I'm going to go and sell illegal coconuts, ok?"

"Ok," L said with a straight face, but I knew he was definitely smiling inside.

* * *

"Raye Penber is being asked to stay in tonight," I told the FBI man on the phone.

"And who are you?" he asked smart-ass-like.

"I am L, who do you think?" I asked, restraining myself from insulting him too much.

"And how am I to know that you are L?"

"How would I know your number?"

The man was quiet, but finally answered. "Fine, Raye Penber, then?"

"Yes, please."

He hung up, and I came out from the alley I was in, and pocketed the voice-distorting device. The long black trench coat I wore hid all of my feminine features, and I added the dark hat that Raye Penber wore, as well. I was covering for him tonight because I wanted to see Light mess up- or at least see him do something interesting. I held up my wrist, and pulled the sleeve back. Connected to a leather strap that held tightly to my arm was my cell phone, at ready to record anything said. Then I adjusted the small camera that hid at my jaw, sticking out from under my jacket. It was an extention to a small video recorder attached to my back, between my shoulder blades.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to talk to me in public?" Light asked no one. The camera and sound recorder would most likely pick something up if anyone responded to him. But he continued walking, seeming to listen to something unseen and unheard by myself.

Was it his shinigami talking to him? Hopefully it was, or else my cousin was somewhat criminally insane.

I regret that I hadn't touched the Death Note in his drawer that I'd worked and thought about so hard to get to, but he got home at the moment I'd found it.

* * *

_I crept up the stairs and stopped at Light's door. I looked closely, and found that he had incredibly subtle ways of security. Lead… the obvious paper… and the handle of the door was somewhat off. I even took note of how tightly the door was shut before carefully removing everything I could, and entering my cousin's carefully guarded room._

_Under the bed, in the bed, through the drawers I looked, but found nothing. Nothing incriminating, I should say. He did have a hidden stash of cheap porno magazines, but they were hidden in such a neat fashion that I guessed he did not use them, but kept them in case of a need for a cover story. As I came to his desk, I threw open the top drawer, somewhat feeling angry at my lack of findings, but suddenly I felt ecstatic as I heard a slight thump from something that was not in the drawer.I put my finger carefully to _

_the middle of the drawer's bottom, and pressed down, feeling it give only the slightest. But Light wasn't so cheap that he would leave a fake bottom to so easily be found- obviously he wanted no one in here, shown by the slight pieces that had adorned his door so secretively. I checked the sides of the drawer, the handel, and even competely removed the damn thing before I checked the bottom, and found a small hole. _

_I replaced the drawer into its place in the desk, and examined the hole. Too tiny for any key I've seen, and by the looks of it, the 'key' used would need to be quite long to completely remove the bottom. I searched his desk, and sat in his chair thinking for at least 20 minutes before finding a loose pen in front of me. The bottom was slightly off, and I pulled it out completely. It seemed skinny enough and long enough, so I tried it._

* * *

Light walked on for about half a minute or so before speaking again, after looking over his shoulder and up slightly: "I know that much already, Ryuk."

Ryuk?

"What's up, Ryuk?" he asked. "Why are you saying things like this now? It's not like you."

How would you know? Surely you've only known Ryuk- as I'm guessing he's a shinigami- for a few weeks…

"Quit beating around the bush," Light murmered, and after a few more seconds of walking, stopped completely. He knew I was there.

He continued walking again, until he got home, at which point I simply hung around until I got bored and left. Surely this would be enough to either prove to myself that Light is undoubtedly Kira, or prove that he's insane.

When I finally did decide to return to the hotel room, it was around 4AM, but I was still jumpy. I'd just gotten back from a club I'd met Misa at, and we hung around for so long. She may be a second Kira, but she's still quite fun to be around.

I snuck into the room, barely even opening the door wide enough, and swore that I saw a monster about to eat L… but no, it was just Watari, and he stood behind a sleeping L. I never knew L to sleep twice in 3 days- _that_ wasn't like him. I guess that the investigation was more exhausting that previous cases he'd worked. He was still in his thinking position, however, so maybe he was doing that thing where you're aware of things around you, but you couldn't move if you'd wanted to.

"Good night, Kitsune-san," Watari said, and I returned it, smiling.

"See you later," I added as he left, and sat at the edge of the bed, behind L, who still slept peacefully.

It was cute, really. L was like a kitten or something the way that he was always doing something when awake, but when he was asleep he looked like a statue.

* * *

I found myself asleep soon- staring at L was all I did for about 45 minutes, and as interesting as he is, I guess I just got bored or something to that effect.

I shivered as I slowly awoke that morning. I was really cold for some reason.

That's when I noticed that I was on the floor. "Dammit," I cursed under my breath, and found that L was already awake and watching the television. The news, I think, but I couldn't see because I was still too groggy.

"Happy Birthday," L said without turning to me.

_Oh yeah…_


	7. Reminiscence

_Happy Birthday Kitsune-chan…_

"_Oi, Kitsu," Mimimori, the 8 year-old girl kicking around a soccer ball, called, "come play with us!"_

_I shook my head and continued staring at nothing._

_Mimi held the black-and-white ball between her arm and side, and walked up to stand in front of me._

"_What's wrong Kitsu?" she asked innocently._

"_Nothing- my mom's just being weird today."_

"_Oh…" she looked down at the ball. "You're sure you don't want to play? Maybe it'll get your mind off your mom."_

"_No, really, I'm okay."_

_She sighed and left, and I watched another soccer game going on parallel to the one Mimimori played in. As I zoned out, I heard a swooshing noise, and pain shot through my head._

"_Stupid- what you're problem?!" someone yelled at a kid that had kicked the ball. My face didn't change at all, though I had tears in my eyes because my eyes had been open- but otherwise, I don't think you could tell._

_No one really seemed to care, so I just continued thinking about whatever it was I was thinking. A headache would sear through my head every now and then, but would disappear- then the middle of my face became numb, and my nose felt like it was throbbing._

_I stood up suddenly to go inside, and I nearly fell over. I felt nauseous and I was suddenly sleepy from the headaches. I stumbled inside, and onto a couch that was nearby. Someone else was on the couch, but I ignored them, and curled up in the corner of the couch. A few quiet seconds went by before the person said anything; "Are you ok?"_

_I shook my head, but didn't look at them. My face was shoved into the very corner where it was darkest._

"_Hey, Kitsu!" someone yelled._

_I didn't look up because I knew who was calling me. It was Temmu, the most muscular 12 year-old I think I'd ever seen. And I'd made enemies with him when I'd protected my friend, Sheri._

"_Kitsu!" Temmu repeated, and I felt a hang push me harder against the couch's arm. "What's wrong Kitsu- you ain't talking to me?"_

"_Go away, Temmu," the person on the couch ordered._

"_What're you gonna do, skinny?"_

"_Fuck off, Temmu," I said, and kicked at him with one leg, still not taking my face from the couch._

"_Poor little Kitsu and her __**boyfriend**__ want us to go away, guys," Temmu told whichever friends he had behind him._

"_**Fuck off**__!" I yelled, and jumped at him from where I'd been curled up. He fell back and onto the coffee table, which we rolled off of, and he straddled me. He hit at my face and his friends soon joined in, but then I heard someone else hitting, but not me._

"_Hey, man, this ain't your problem!" one of Temmu's friends yelled. Temmu was lifted off me and I saw a young teenage boy glaring at Temmu's friends. Above me stood one of the Cares (as my friends and I called them- they were the 'official' people of the orphanage.), and she glared around the room. _

"_Haven't I told you about this before, Temmu?!" she yelled._

"_I was just talking to Kitsu and this guy over here hits my friend and then Kitsu started in on us too!"_

"_Kitsu's going to get bruises on her face, and it's not from a __**soccer ball**__, Temmu!" the Care shot._

_The Care took Temmu and his gang out of the room and into the office wherever it was, and the boy sat back on the couch after helping me up._

"_Thanks…" I muttered to the boy. I felt bad for not being more enthusiastic in my thanks, but I really didn't have it in me._

_He stared at the floor before looking at me briefly; "Why did you attack him?"_

_I averted my eyes and pretended to find interest in a large grandfather clock next to the couch. "I don't know. I'm not having a good day…"_

_He decided that my voice showed my want to not carry on the subject and said, "You don't live here, do you?"_

"_No, I don't. I come here because I made friends of people here when my mom used to come and help."_

"_Where is your mother now?"_

"_At home- probably asleep… I have no idea why she's been so insane for the past few weeks."_

"_What's she been doing?"_

"_Nothing…"_

_He watched me closely, but still I watched the time on the clock tick by slowly. "If she's done nothing, how is she insane?"_

_He seemed to be enjoying this a little too much. "Fine; I came home from school a few weeks ago, and I find her wearing just a shirt and underwear with some man I've never seen before in my life sitting in the living room, and she greets me like everything's alright. Then she cries the next day about how this man left her and used her and stupid stuff like that when even __**I**__ knew that this wasn't going to last! So now __she's been all angry at me about everything and today…"- My voice got softer as I felt the need to cry somewhat- "she woke me up and told me that she had company coming over, and I needed to go somewhere…"_

"_Today is special?" he asked as if he already knew, but just played along._

"_No, apparently today is not special," I mumbled. _

* * *

"_Happy birthday, Kitsune," Mimimori woke me happily._

_Apparently I'd been let sleep in Wammy's House overnight. Either someone'd left the place or I'd taken someone's bed. I groaned and rolled over to see the boy that had told me to call him Ryuzaki was at the door. I knew his real name, but since I had him call me a different name, I respected it. He didn't know that it wasn't my name, but I guess he figured it out._

"_Today is your birthday, Kitsu? Well happy birthday, then," he said._

"_Thank you Ryuzaki, and Mimimori," I mumbled._

_Sure, it'd been a year since Temmu and his gang had been removed and placed in some… __**other**__ home for '_naughty children_' as the Care had put it, but I'd gotten closer to 'Ryuzaki' but we knew we wouldn't always stay friends like those kids on television or out in public schools usually stay. Since Temmu had attacked Ryuzaki and me, and since my mother had forgotten my birthday and placed me under the needs of __**guests**__ that she didn't even really know, I'd become _different. _My outlook on life was a bit bleaker than it had been before, and I enjoyed things that I'd never had even considered before. Dark, disturbing things intrigued me and I was looked down upon when visitors and such came around Wammy's House. It's not that I needed to be there or anything, but no one asked me to leave… So I stayed._

* * *

"_Hey, Kitsu!" Mimimori yelled, running up to me and Ryuzaki. "Guess what!?" She left no time between this and continuing- "You, me, Ryuzaki and a few other kids I think, are flying to __**Japan**__!"_

"_Me?" I asked slowly._

"_Of course __**you**__; you and Ryuzaki are the smartest kids here!" Mimimori gushed._

So of course, we'd packed everything and left.

Mom had died in the hospital a few months prior, due to drug overdose.

Mimimori died a short while after in Japan, when she was in a car crash.

Dad… I didn't have a dad…

I was soon adopted by two very nice seeming people- Toidiami Tori and William. I grew up in Yokohoma, and I never saw Ryuzaki again… until today of course. I really wonder if he remembers me or not- Watari does…

* * *

_We sat on the front steps of this new orphanage…_

_Just me and Ryuzaki…_

_I think it was snowing, but I wouldn't know- I was crying too hard._

_I couldn't see._

_I couldn't hear the loud city noises- they faded into nothing._

_But I could feel. I felt a hug… from Ryuzaki. It was an emotional time, yes, but I hadn't expected human contact… he didn't touch anyone- __**ever**__._

"_I'm sorry, Kitsune-chan," he said._

"_No… this is entirely my fault… everything… Mom, Mimi… now I'm leaving and I'm just going to blend into the crowd… But you won't. I promise you you'll become famous somehow."_

_He smiled- refraining a small laugh. "I'd really like to see that."_

"_You will… and I'll see you again."_

"_We will," he promised._

* * *

We were kids… what did we know? It was emotional- I was leaving, he was staying, and I was moving practically across Japan. However he did hold up his promise…

"Kitsune…?"

I looked up at L from my place on the floor.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, why?"

"You looked a little zoned out, and you were kind of mumbling something."

"Just…thinking…"

"What were you thinking about?" He seemed to be very bored this… evening?

I paused, and looked at the far wall. "Do you remember when you were in Wammy's House?"

"Yes…."

"And me?"

"Of course… that's why I chose for you to be the one to help with this whole thing."

"And why you took up my case for the Drater murders?"

"Yes…"

I nodded softly, and lay my head on my knees. "What ever happened to you when I was gone?"

"Nothing much… between you leaving and my becoming L… nothing really happened."

"I can't believe how horribly my life went after you came to Wammy's House," I said, grinning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively, smiling.

"I remember that day you came- it was snowing! After that, Mimi and I met you, then suddenly we all came to Japan and the family who got me pretty much just imploded."

After a few minutes of talking and then a long silence, L questioned me: "Your second mother- Tori, right?" I nodded- "owns a flower shop, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she lives on the top floor."

"It wouldn't be Moon Bird Flowers, would it?" he asked slowly.

"Yes- what's wrong?" I asked.

"It was burned last night… I've just received information about a gang of criminals burning most of the district that the shop was in…" he turned to me and stood…


	8. It's True

_Dear Tori,_

_Thank you so much for taking me in and letting me ruin your life and family. Dad's here at the funeral, and so is your sister and her family, the Yagami's. I pray you weren't killed via the Death Note, but instead just simply the men that were recently killed by Kira, who I regret to tell you is Light- however I wish that you weren't dead at all…_

_I always wanted to call you mom, but never did. I rue the fact that I simply felt pity for myself so much that I didn't think you really were… _

_But you always were more of a mother than the one that birthed me and let me live in her __**house**__ for the first decade of my life. I'll miss you more than anything this life has or can ever bring. I cannot avenge you, though, for Light beat me to it. However, I don't know whether I should continue after Kira, because he killed those who kill you- but I __**will**__ kill him if it turns out that he killed you._

_I wish I could see you again… They're taking the store… they've told your sister that without my being there, they're going to have to take the lot and what's left of the actual building… _

_I did save some of your flowers though. Under this writing is one of them- your favorite- a sakura blossom. I hope that you can see it. It's one of the most beautiful you've ever grown._

_I love you Mom._

_Please still love me. I'm sorry that I wasn't there with you._

_I've been with the boy you saw on the steps when you and William came to pick me up that first day._

_Toidiami, Kitsune_

_YHVH_

As the mourners disappeared into cars that soon drove away, I stared blankly at the coffin holding my late mother. I glanced around and saw that the ones who would soon bury my mother completely were standing in a small circle out of view of me as I slipped the note into a small gap between the lid and body of the coffin.

I needed to get into Light's room. The only thing that could make up my mind about the future right now was Light- whether he wrote my mother's name or not into his Death Note…

But I had no way.

I flipped open my phone, and called the Yagami house.

"Hello?" Aunt Sachiko's voice entered my ears.

"Auntie?"

"Kitsune-chan…!" Sachiko practically yelled.

"Aunt Sachiko, I need you and Uncle to get Light-kun and Sayu-chan out of the house."

"What…? Why…?" She asked carefully.

"Because of my mother's death, the police have asked to make sure that no arsonal can be committed in your neighborhood."

"But where would we go?"

"Go to lunch- or dinner; whatever part of the day it is."

"Okay, but where are you, Kitsune-chan?" she asked.

"I can't tell you- I'm sorry. All I can say is that I'm in a very hard place… Thank you, anyway."

"Goodbye, Kitsu-chan."

"Goodbye, Auntie."

I walked carelessly down the sidewalk on the way to the Yagami house. On the street, cars drove by me, and I think that I saw my Aunt and Uncle driving by. At the house, and took out my old key, and waltzed in. I set Aunt Sachiko's cell phone on the dining room table and smiled at a recent photo of me next to Sayu and Light's school pictures on the mantle in the living room. Up the stairs, around the corner, and I stood in front of Light's door. My heart beat fast for some reason. I removed the security systems and made sure that there were no new ones.

I broke open the pen on Light's desk, and, after the careful removal of the fake bottom, I held the Death Note of Light Yagami- the wonderfully powerful book that looked so lanky and useless in my hands.

I grinned down at Light's Death Note. I tore out one of the pages, and pocketed it. I opened the door to his balcony and stared at the sky. Stars twinkled and the moon glared down at me as I closed the door again. I replaced everything the way it was when I'd come in, and stopped.

I think I have problems.

I stomped back up the stairs and again repeated everything, but this time looked at the last few people Light had killed.

Takashi Uri, Wimara Shinii… I stared at the page. Under Wimara Shinii it read "Burns down Tyou Shopping Center, including Moon Bird Flowers down to Pink Petal Dry Cleaners, and is shot down by police at the scene." **Fuck you, Yagami Light.**

"_Mommy…? Mommy…!" I called._

"_Quiet down, honey," Mom muttered from the living room._

"_Sorry," I whispered and walked into the kitchen. I slipped into my room as I smelled bitter smoke in the air. I shoved a blanket up against the gap under my door and sat on my bed. It was oddly quiet, but I just continued staring at the wall, then the ceiling until I heard something loud from the living room. At first I thought that it was just mom having one of her tantrums…_

"_I'm sorry," I repeated as I stared down at my mother. She looked blankly at me, as if something important stood behind me and I wasn't there- but her eyes saw nothing. Her mouth was slightly open, and her jaw hung sideways loosely. _

_I could imagine hearing her voice; "Call the doctor, honey." She'd told me so many times before to do this, but right now it seemed useless. I sat next to her, and touched her greasy hair. I hadn't been so close to my mother in weeks- maybe months- and it took a death for her to let me- even if she didn't actually have a say in it._

_The phone shook in my fingers. Oh mommy…. I felt childish. I wasn't supposed to. I wanted to cry. I wanted someone to hold me. I didn't want this…_

"I didn't know that it went like that…"

"Yeah well… you weren't supposed to. I told everyone at Wammy's House that she died in a car crash."

"That's what I was told, but I kind of wondered…"

I looked away from L, who stared at me closely. I was on the bed and he was in the chair. I wanted to be somewhere else quite badly.

L looked down at the floor; "Why did you leave? Tori and William said that you had a choice…"

"I couldn't stand to be around anyone or anything from my past, even though you were part of it… But instead of just starting over with a better future, everything went worse, and now people lay dead behind me…"

"Now Tori…" L reflected.

"Yes, now Tori."

It was silent for a while until someone knocked on the door.

"You have company?" I asked softly.

"Yes, I actually almost forgot. You should put this back on," he said, handing me a mask I'd bought a while ago. It was very interesting looking, indeed.

Apparently L trusted the police force enough to send over a few men to meet him. Watari handed them a kind of belt that I also received and then fake police badges. The men did their best to ignore me, the masked girl on the bed staring at them with my head slightly to the side.

"You seem to have noticed the girl behind me," L said.

The men were quiet, but my Uncle nodded.

"This is Kuroi-chan. She does not talk, but helps greatly with my cases."

"Why have we never heard of her?" Matsuda (or who I though was-) asked.

"She prefers to remain even more secretive than even I, and she remains completely invulnerable to Kira, as far as we know. As long as Kira needs a name and a face, he'll never have either with Kuroi, in case I die before we catch him," L said sullenly.

I stepped off of the bed and stood without making a single noise, and made my way to stand next to L. I bowed to the men, and casually cracked my neck. Most of them looked away from me, and I grinned (since the mask hid my face completely).

That night was very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very boring, and I did not have a wonderful time. Not a wonderful time at all.

I tugged softly on L's sleeve from my place on the floor, and he looked from the chief to me. "Yes?"

I handed him a piece of paper reading something about needing to tell the men about my help in the investigation.

"Right," L said, and looked to the men again; "Kuroi-chan may be seen by some of you every now and then on the street because she's going to investigate each of you in depth. Nothing too personal will be revealed but it's needed so that we know we can completely trust you."

"What…!?" Aizawa objected. "You don't trust us enough already?"

"Please, Aizawa," Uncle said, "L and Kuroi are right. We should all be cleared completely with L, and if Kuroi is trusted by L, I believe that she will be thorough and truthful."

I bowed my head slightly in thanks to Uncle.

The men left about half an hour later, and I removed the mask, gasping. "Jesus, this thing is so hard to breathe in!"

L smiled and returned to the computer. "Ow," I muttered.

"What's wrong?"

"I've got this cut on my hand…" I murmered and picked at a piece of skin next to the gash.

"Ok…" L said, and for some odd reason poked my head.

"Agh…!" I yelled and swatted at him even though he had withdrawn his hand. "Why you poke me?"

"I didn't poke you! You had a piece of that damn mask in your hair."

"Sure… sure…" I said and returned to the cut.

"Don't bleed on anything."

"Your concern shows no limits," I told him, and walked over to my bag. "Damn stupid game controller probably did it."

"Were you playing video games again?"

"Yes and there's this piece of my controller that… like… cuts me or something."

"That's not a nice controller…"

_Wow my life suddenly has gotten boring…._


	9. Broken Not Bleeding

No, I couldn't press that damn button… there was no way in hell I would let myself be _saved_… especially by the person who I need to desperately prove myself to.

"Oh, fuck you! It's not like L would ever work with me, anyway."

The overly-large man slapped me and returned to pacing around the room before me. "Listen, **sweetie**," he spat, "you're only making this harder on yourself. We know you're working with L, and you have to either lead us to him or kill him yourself- no matter what, we must stop L."

"Why…? Because he just happens to be _one_ of the possible **hundreds** who want and could put Kira away? Why did none of you take action!? It's not like it's impossible, smartass," I retorted.

A gun was shoved up next to my arm, and someone put some flat _something_ against a part of my arm- which soon began to tingle. I looked down and saw that my arm had turned a purple-grey colour.

"One little slice and flick of my finger, your blood'll _cover_ this place," the man threatened.

"Oh, poor me…" I said thoughtfully; "I'm stuck in yet another hard place and have no way of getting out. It seems that my drama has reached a very unfortunate climax, and I'm in quite a… **pinch**." I sighed; "Okay, I'll call L- how's that, big boy? I'll call L and tell him to come to where I am."

The man hesitated. I could imagine what thoughts went through his head: _Can we really trust that she'll get L to come alone? What if he's not really L? What if she calls the police? What if L really is the police?_ I grinned deviously. "It's okay, I won't do anything naughty. I'll keep anything I promise to, and that's a promise."

"Well that'd be too easy, you see. Not only do we want to make L's death very wonderful and grande, but we also have a very good-looking girl bent to our will."

"Show you another way to bend, dumbass," I muttered.

The piece was taken away from my head and the flat whatever was removed from my arm- I actually felt the blood return to the aching veins, and my fingers twitched almost happily. _Oh boy- blood!_

"Walther P99 semi-automatic pistol? You cheap-ass bastard- you were gonna kill me with _that_?"

He slammed said pistol against my head, and suddenly everything went… weird…

* * *

_**Where's Kitsune? She said she'd be back by now… She's really not one to be late…**_**L shifted uneasily in his chair as the men from the police force continued arguing nonsensically about something L had previously said. The cell phone in L's pocket shivered and buzzed around until he finally answered it; "Hello?"**

"**Um, eh-L-san…?" Kitsune's quivering voice stuttered.**

"**Kuroi…? Where are you?"**

"**I… I'm in a p-**_**pinch**_**," she said, hinting at the word. "See, I forgot my bus fare I need you to come and help me." With every word she sounded closer to crying.**

"**In a pinch…? Where are you?"**

"**S-somewhere near my old apartment... I… I really need some help. Come **_**alone**_**," she finished through clenched teeth.**

**L paused; "Right… I'll be there in a few minutes. What does it look like where you are?"**

"**D-dark and… there's some foul smell… I think I'm near some plant or something like that…"**

"**Okay…" L started, but heard Kitsune hang up.**

* * *

It was too cold to be like this… But they had the blanket and wouldn't give it to me… Why did it suddenly have to be snowing? I really hoped that L had understood **completely**.

"What's wrong, **sweetie**?" the lanky, warped faced one spat; "Bit cold?"

I pulled my knees closer and crossed my ankles tighter. A car screeched and swerved into the side-alley where we were.

* * *

**L sat in the back of the car driven by Watari, going towards the place pinpointed on L's computer by the sensor set off in Kitsu's belt. As they finally came to the small alley, the lights of the car showed four grubby, filthy men…**

**And Kitsu-chan, who sat in the snow with her legs pulled close and her ankles crossed- completely naked. **

**She made sure that nothing was visible, but it was obvious that something had been done to her by the grotesque street-rats of men around her.**

**L emerged from the car, Kitsune's mask covering his face. "Hello, gentlemen- and I use this term quite loosely."**

"**So you're L?" the largest man asked.**

"**Obviously you're the brains of this group. Now what **_**have**_** you done to my Kuroi?"**

"**Oh, so she **_**is**_** important, eh?" The skinniest one grinned.**

* * *

L… oh god… Tears threatened me as they burned under my eyes. As L and the four men talked irratically I edged over to where my belt was laying, and next to it was my jeans, too torn to wear again. From the pocket I pulled out my favorite gun- a pretty little M1911A1 I'd lifted off of one of the men I'd worked with once… long story. I held it in the direction of the back of the largest man… But then I'd kill him. Would this be self-defense? Or would I just be murdering him? I only care about _my_ consequences right now… fuck this man. I'd shoot him any time any place but… I heard something 

faint in the backround, but soon saw a dozen police cars pull up behind L, who made his way over to me as the ugly men payed attention to the new cops. I felt stupid as hell. I didn't want L here right now. I probably looked so fucking pathetic…

Around me L put a blanket- the one denied to me by the gang of idiots. "Are you okay?"

I turned my head away from him completely, knowing that I was probably red… even though he'd probably think it was just the friggen cold- since I wasn't wearing anything and all… "Come on, Kitsu-chan," he said softly and helped me stand up, which didn't work well at all. He turned and covered me and I put on all the clothes that I could- the ones that weren't shreds, that is; all I really put on was my underwear and shirt. As soon as I'd put on my shirt, my numb legs gave out and I fell backwards, slamming my head on the brick wall. I think it was L who put the blanket over my mid and lower sections, and carried me to his car.

I couldn't very well keep my eyes open, but I still persisted even though I was now lying in the incredibly warm automobile with my head fallen limply on L's lap, forcing him to sit like _normal_ people. My eyes burned and forced themselved completely shut… and I was so comfortable…

* * *

_**Kitsune… **_**L thought as he softly touched her hair. **_**I shouldn't have let you go out into the streets when I knew that it's far too dangerous… Damn you, Kira… You've only made Kitsu's life harder… I'll find you and make you pay… **_

"**L-kun…?" Kitsune whispered, not moving.**

"**Hmm…?"**

"**I'm sorry…" she murmered before falling unconscious again.**

* * *

I didn't talk to L at all except to give him my thanks… but otherwise, I hid myself under the blankets, piled on top of me by L and Watari at various times, and shoved my face into the wonderful hotel pillows. "How are you feeling?" L asked, coming beside me, probably.

"Dandy…"

"Kitsu-chan…" he said, using the name that he called me when he was being affectionate or something like that… "What happened…? What did they do to you?"

"They didn't do anything…"

"Oh yes, obviously, because you just _love_ to undress and sit in the snow, don't you?"

"Shut it," I growled, hiding my tearing eyes deeper in the pillow. What did they do, he asks? Oh nothing, really- they just nearly fucking killed me… and …

"Kitsu-chan, just… please just tell me…" I felt his hand on my mid shoulder, and slowly faced him.

"They… almost… you know…"

"Kitsu…" he whispered, and hugged me tightly…

* * *

"_It's okay, Kitsu-chan," Ryuzaki told me. We were on the plane soon headed for Japan, and I was scared shitless. I held tightly to his arm as we sat, waiting to take off. Sure, I'd been on a plane before, but never across such a vast amount of space. As we slowly began to surge through the air, I felt Ryuzaki tense slightly. I wondered if he'd ever been on a plane before… That was the first sign of humanity Ryuzaki had ever really shown… He'd always been like a diety- statuesque and unemotional, but still fun to be around…_"But they **didn't**," I added, whispering into L's shoulder.

* * *

"It doesn't matter if they did, nearly did, or just thought about it- I still left you in danger…"

"It's okay, really. It was my fault…" I slowly hugged L back, hesitant from the sudden human contact… I hadn't had a hug since…

"I'm sorry," he repeated, standing before me again, composing himself quickly. I pouted without meaning to, and he stared at me for a few seconds. "When's the last time someone hugged you?"

"Tori… when she and William divorced…" I answered thoughtlessly.

"I…I'm sorry," he said once more before turning and walking back to his chair…

I really wanted him to come back and hug me again… but that was probably that last hug I'd get for a while.


	10. Everything According to Plan

_I think … god hates me…_I looked around the sunlit room at the five male humans talking about Kira and such and then at the calendar on my cell phone. _Already 2004… wow, I can't believe I got kidnapped New Year's Eve…_

A small beeping came from across the room, and alerted Watari of someone calling. "Yes… yes… please wait a moment," Watari said, and looked at L; "Ryuzaki, it's from Ukita-san at the other office. He says he's on the line with someone who has interesting information."

L nodded. "All right; tell him the number for line five, and have him ask the person to call back here." He then turned to Matsuda; "Matsuda-san, you can turn your cell phone back on. That is, please turn it on." As it was turned on, Matsuda's phone began ringing, and L grabbed it. "Yes, this is Suzuki, head of the information processing unit for the Kira case."

I began thinking and zoned out the conversation… _**I **__know who's Kira… but they don't. How am I going to convince L and prove to everyone that Light and his damned Death Note are behind this without going into his room and stealing it…? Anyway, if I did get it, I'd have to prove that it works, and who knows what Light's shinigami will do? Then I'd have to somehow sneak in there again without anything happening, and get back here to show him. Then again… Like I said, I'd have to prove how the Death Note works, which would mean killing someone. Maybe I could just use a death row inmate. Also, if I steal it, Kira will stop… _

_But wait…_

_Misa… _I'd completely forgotten Amane Misa and _her_ Death Note._ She'll probably find 'Kira' and work with him… She didn't seem like the smartest girl ever._ _I know what I could do: I'll-_

I jumped as Matsuda and Aizawa screamed out about something being illegal. "If that got out, there'd be a huge scandal. We'd all be fired. Not just that, we'd be arrested…" Aizawa added to whatever had originally been stated.

"So you won't risk your jobs? I thought you were risking your **lives** for this," L shot back.

"Who were the two NPA personnel that Penber was probing?" Soichiro asked L.

"Let's see, that's before Devember 19th," Matsuda murmered, shuffeling through a few papers, and stared in surprise at one paper. "Deputy Director-general Kitamura and his family, and detective-superintendent Yagami and his family..."  
L nodded a bit, and looked at Soichiro, "I'd like to place bugs and hidden cameras in those two homes."

I stood and, as the men argued around L, who stood kind of silent except to add a few comments and such, walked across the room to where Watari was. All these people were so… boring… No investigation is much fun when you're 105 sure that someone's Kira…

January 8th, I stood beside L and next to Soichiro, watching TV screens showing video from camera's I'd set up previously around the two houses- Yagami and Kitamura. However, I left because I figured that 

since Soichiro didn't know that I was his long-missing niece, he'd probably think I was intruding or something. I sighed and sat outside the door. _Gee, that's the thanks I get. I set up all those damned camera's and I can't even watch what happens… stupid… men._

* * *

_Dear Law,_

_If you are reading this, I'm most likely dead. . ._

_. . . . . . .. …. …………. _

I poked my pencil at the paper and looked round at Ryuzaki, sitting with the other Task Force members, talking. I always wondered what I would nickname him if I called him his real name- Lawliet. It's such a nice name, really. Law I guess… iieto…? That sounded interesting…

The reason I was writing the letter for him was that I was going to try and confront Kira myself. Then I decided that I would instead take care of other cases given to L so that he could focus fully on Kira. I did really want to reveal the truth of Light's being Kira, but I needed to leave this to L.

I began pondering the future at this point. What should happen to me if L was to die? Would I need to follow the orders of some **kid**? I stood and walked across the room to my backpack type thing. From it I drew out a red covered notebook. A name in some oddly charactered language was scrawled on the front, and I knew it said Tsukaio. I tore one of the random middle pages out, and returned to my chair.

It was all a plan.

Somewhere in Aoyama, in a storeroom sat a young man by the name of Shain- the owner of the notebook I had in my bag. A few days ago Ryuzaki had touched the red-covered notebook. He'd been tied there for 150 days. It was amazing that he wasn't dead- of course I'd gotten people to feed him and such, but still. A shinigami sat in the corner of the room doing who-knows-what. Shain had a tie over his mouth to keep him from relinquishing ownership of the Death Note- the notebook.

Very confusing, yes?

Well this is the plan:

First I had found Death Note, but relinquished ownership and gave it to a friend's brother, Shain. That had been nearly 2 years ago. He killed only about 2 people with it before I sent a small gang after him- which is when he was gagged and tied up in a storeroom. His sister, my friend from a long time ago, and her family were told that he is on a certain mission that he cannot discuss and would be gone for quite a long while- 481 days, to be precise. One of my men was to attempt to kill Shain, but his shinigami, Tsukaio, would kill my man. This would result in the shinigami's death. If the shinigami did not kill my man, and Shain, instead, died, the ownership would be transferred to me, and the shinigami would have 

to possess me, and I would then give the Death Note to L and relinquish ownership, and would sometime soon touch the Death Note. The shinigami would stay hidden because I'd learned that Tsukaio wasn't one to immediately show himself to the new owner of his Death Note.

The reason for all of this, you ask? Well Toidiami Kitsune is not my name. You probably know this because I was adopted by Toidiami Tori and William, so, even though it's what I'm called, it's not my name. No one, not even Quillish Wammy, knows my real name. Because of this, I couldn't be killed by a Death Note unless someone had the shinigami eyes- which would, then, be rendered useless because I only go into public with a black surgical mask over my face and my bangs covering my eyes. Because owners of the Death Note cannot be killed by a Death Note, L Lawliet would become the new owner and made safe from a Death Note's harm.

Anyway, if the shinigami did die and Shain was left alive, he would be released by the gang I'd hired and told never to talk, or he _**would**__ die._ In any case, I was going to have Ryuzaki touch the book in my bag at 5PM, the time that Shain was to be killed, and he'll be holding it if the shinigami dies. If not, he won't have to see Tsukaio- because, like I said, he won't appear- and he'll be safe still…

It seems foolproof, yes?

Let us hope, shall we?

* * *

_**Aoyama, Japan in a small storeroom…**_

_Shain shook as the large man entered the room. Tsukaio lifted his head at the visitor, but Shain only knew this because of the jingling noise made by his necklaces. The man who entered held a large knife with a gleaming blade and brass hilt. _

"_Hey there, Shain- Guess what?" The man grinned cruelly and balanced the knife in his hand carefully. "You're going to die today."_

_Shain shook his head and cried, the tears making the gag in his mouth moist._

"_Oh come, now, Shain- it won't be too bad," the man spat._

_Tsukaio stood and retrieved his Death Note from a holster on his hip. He scribbled something down and as the man approached, dropped the Death Note. He stood beside Shain, who trembled at the sight of the blade about to pierce his throat. "I'm sorry, Shain-kun. This is all a plan, but I must go with it. Goodbye…" The man before Shain dropped the knife and fell, gasping for air as he convulsed on the ground for a few agonizing seconds. Shain stared at the dead man in shock, and then looked at his _

_shinigami beside him. Tsukaio's silver skin disinegrated into shining blue sand that fell silently to the ground. In moment the shinigami was reduced to nothing more than a pile of death. _

_Another man entered the room at this point and retrieved the Death Note dropped by Tsukaio. Somehow it lay untouched by Tsukaio's demise. Shain was silently untied and knocked out so that he could be taken elsewhere and return to his family. The dropped shinigami Death Note was sent to a post office PO box where it was to be picked up by Kitsune the next day…_


End file.
